Before He Loses Her
by Celey
Summary: Quiverwing Duck struggles to talk to Darkwing about something very important.


(Author's Note: This story is based on events in the Darkwing Duck comic book. Don't read if you haven't read Issue 8. I do not own the cartoon or comic characters.)

"_Help him have one of his last few victories… before he loses her."_

Darkwarrior's words echoed in my head, especially that last part. It was true. I had seen into the time stream. I had seen what would happen to Darkwing Duck's Gosalyn. I knew that I needed to talk to him. I needed to tell him… something. Anything. And I had to tell him before I left on the Transdimensional Express. What could I tell him, though?

I watched him while hiding in the shadows. I felt comfortable in the shadows, you see. My Gosalyn had felt comfortable there, too. Sometimes, it felt like I could feel her there in the shadows with me, and whenever I shot an arrow, it was like she was fighting by my side again.

I looked over to Gosalyn who was shaking some of the Darkwings' hands. It pained me some to see her and know that I would be going back to my universe where she was… gone. I wondered if any of the other Darkwings had told the original about Gosalyn. They had seen into the time stream, too. Some of them had even already lost their own Gosalyns. I saw Darkwing chatting with the others. They were swapping adventure stories and comparing the similarities of each other's universes. I stepped out of the shadows.

"Darkwing…" I began, but several Darkwings turned their attention to me, so I clarified, "The original Darkwing…"

The original wormed his way out of the crowd. He gave me a curious glance. "Is something wrong, Quiverwing?"

I didn't know how to respond to that. There wasn't anything wrong… yet, but there would be. Soon. "I need to talk to you… alone."

I turned my back on him and gestured for him to follow me. I led him to the stairwell leading up out of the subway station and stopped. We were a good distance away from the other Darkwings, Morgana, and Gosalyn, now.

"So, what's with the long face, Quiverwing? The bad guys have been vanquished, the day has been saved. Bowling Ball Darkwing is apparently an expert in reverse engineering, so you'll be back in your own universe pretty soon."

I felt sorry for him. He really didn't have a clue. But what would happen if I did clue him in? Would he be able to prevent what I saw from happening? I remembered when I saw into the time stream, it wasn't just his future I saw. I saw the future of other Darkwings and their pasts and presents as well. It had been a lot to take in. In each of them, there was a common feature. Gosalyn was or would be no longer present in their lives.

"Hel-lo." I saw a feathery hand being waved in my face. "Is anybody in there?" Darkwing asked, a smile on his bill.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry. I must have spaced out there for a moment. Your universe is very nice…" He gave me an odd look. I corrected what I said, "I mean, apart from all the damage all of us mind-controlled Darkwings caused. It's much different than mine."

I wondered if there was some kind of cosmic force at work, making the Gosalyns of every universe leave their Darkwing behind in some form or fashion. If that was the case, perhaps there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Perhaps it was just destiny.

"Yep yep yeeeep. You must be jealous." He smirked at me; his eyes gleamed with a bit of mischief, as if he were daring me to say otherwise. A long time ago, I might have argued with him, but I'm a lot more subdued now than what I used to be.

"I am a little jealous," I told him. And I was. He still had his Gosalyn. Gosalyn, the single most important person that had ever walked into my life.

He looked surprised at my admission. "Well, ah… I'm sure your universe is nice, too. Not as nice as mine, of course, but nice."

Then, it dawned on me. I shouldn't tell him. If I told him, he wouldn't be enjoying his time with Gosalyn. He'd be fretting over her safety. If I was right about the whole cosmic force thing, then he'd be fretting needlessly. His last few moments with Gosalyn would be wasted. I couldn't do that to him.

"So, ah… Gosalyn sure is something special, isn't she?" I smiled because I could see the adoration in his eyes when I mentioned her.

"Yeah. She sure is." He smiled back at me, "You must be missing her back in your universe. Well, don't worry, pal. I'm sure Bowling Ball Darkwing will get the train up and running soon, and then, you can go back to your Gosalyn."

I tilted my hat over my eyes and steeled myself, trying to keep my expression unreadable. "Yeah," I said.

I couldn't hide anything from my counterpart. He put his hand on my shoulder and peered underneath my hat. "Are you okay?"

"I just miss her is all." I could feel something wet on my cheek feathers. Even after all this time, it still hurt. I took a deep breath. "I'm okay. Just… take good care of Gosalyn, all right?"

Darkwing smiled, "I will."

He shook my hand. I felt a little guilty about not telling him, but in the end, I think I made the right choice.


End file.
